Your outdoor Christmas decorations and winter garden decormake a statement about your taste in your neighbourhood, so if you're planning on hosting parties or have family coming home for the festive period, a Christmas wreath is that all-important initial welcome. It says - 'come on in' - it's time to celebrate.
Putting a wreath on your front door is a wonderful way to mark the start of Advent. This Christmas, you might aim to create warm feelings of nostalgia, for which a classic evergreen wreath is ideal. Traditional wreaths have seasonal foliage, such as fragrant spruce, fir, red hypericum berries, holly, mistletoe, poinsettias and pinecones. You could also incorporate dried oranges, nuts, pomegranates and cinnamon sticks for a wonderful festive scent.
Best Christmas wreaths at a glance
• Best handmade Christmas wreath: 20 inch Blue Floral Wreath - View now on Pines and Needles
• Best value Christmas wreath: Green & White Christmas Wreath - View now on Asda
• Best traditional Christmas wreath: The Christmas DIY Wreath - View now on Bloom & Wild
Alternatively, your decor may be winter wonderland this year, for which you may choose textured foliage such as thistles, trailing ivy and Scandinavian blue spruce. To make your wreath extra special, adorn it with blue velvet ribbon, peacock feathers baubles and twinkling lights, there's truly nothing more evocative of the Christmas spirit than a fresh and handmade wreath.
For more how-to tips on making your own DIY wreath, there is a step-by-step on how you can make a fresh and modern Christmas wreath with advice from Green & Wild's expert florist, Hannah Bosbury. Here at Modern Gardens, we've been looking for the best across a range of wreaths. From all-natural, handmade and DIY wreaths to budget and alternative options we want to ensure there is the perfect option just fir you. Whatever your budget this Christmas, we've taken care to include wreaths that range in price. And we know that not everyone will want to hang a wreath on their front door. So, we've included larger and small options that would look equally as attractive in a conservatory or a hallway.
The best Christmas wreaths
Best handmade Christmas wreath
www.pinesandneedles.com
This show-stopping real Christmas wreath with a blue floral display provides a different display than the traditional colour palette.
Pros
- Great price
- Delivery all down to you
- Unique colour choices
Cons
- No reviews yet
Best DIY Christmas wreath kit
www.bybloom.co.uk
A sensuous overload of fragrant Nordmann spruce, fresh eucalyptus and mulled oranges. With natural pinecones and berried ivy details. You create your own wreath with a beautifully presented kit that includes a ready-to-decorate wreath ring and all the greenery and instructions on how to make it. And there's access to an exclusive video tutorial with celebrity florist Larry Walshe.
Tried & tested by Commercial Content Editor, Natalie Corner: "I'm not sure what I was expecting when my DIY wreath arrived, but it was an incredible sight to see all the fresh pine branches and assorted dried fruits and pine cones ready and raring to go. The smell of all these combined was also a delight.
"The card within the box held simple instructions but for more detailed insight there is a QR code that takes you to a DIY tutorial showing you step by step how to achieve the perfect wreath. It was really simple to follow, although I did find it tricky to cut down the pine branches without proper garden scissors and blunted my own indoor scissors in the process! But all the other pieces were easy to break down into smaller sizes and attach to the moss ring. I would add it would be great if there was something to place on the back of the moss ring as I was hanging it indoors as I'm in a flat, but this is definitely for the front of your house.
"You really can't go wrong with how you attach your fruit and pine cones, the finished wreath looks fab and is seriously large and heavy so you may need something sturdier to wrap around it to hang. It's advised to spritz it with water to keep it fresh, and there were lots of pine branches left over to pop in vases to add more festive decor around the home."
Pros
- Wreaths are made with natural products which should be expected to dry within 2 weeks
- Instructions included
Cons
- Get some big scissors for the tougher branches
Best value Christmas wreath
direct.asda.com
We love the peppering of frost and snow on this luxurious eucalyptus wreath. The white berries evoke all the romanticism of standing under a surprise poesy of mistletoe. For a faux wreath, this has tremendous realism and can be enjoyed for years to come. A perfect combination of traditional and contemporary.
Customer review: "Looked exactly as pictured online. Is really big, which is great for the front door at Christmas. A little bent on the branches in transit but they're wired so could easily be shaped back in place."
Pros
- A perfect combination of traditional and contemporary
- Easily manipulated
- Great value
Cons
- Bigger than expected
Best pink Christmas wreath
www.notonthehighstreet.com
Celebrate a candy floss Christmas fairy tale with this wonderful pink Rosewood wreath from NotOnTheHighStreet. Sturdy and well-made, this wreath is made from pine cones and sparkling wooden petals for a long-lasting result that will last you years to come.
Pros
- Hardy
- Comes with eco jute hanging rope so you can hang it on your door
Cons
- No reviews yet
Best heart-shaped Christmas wreath
www.lights4fun.co.uk
Crafted into a unique heart shape and classic colours of pink and white, this textured wreath is perfect for adding an uplifting feel to your front door or home. Style throughout your space by hanging it on doors or style it on your mantelpiece for the ultimate feature. We love how simple it is.
Customer review: "Amazing , stunning beautiful pale pink."
Pros
- Simple but beautiful
- Can add lights to make it more effective
Cons
- May not be able to withstand bad weather
Best artificial Christmas wreath
www.coopersofstortford.co.uk
Here at Modern Gardens, we love the alternative foliage that's been used in this faux wreath. Lavender is more associated with the summer months, but it does evoke times past when dried flowers would have been used in decorations. This artificial wreath has wonderful texture and depth with luscious, inky green foliage. For a low-maintenance decoration, that's suitable for indoor and outdoor use, this Lavender Whirl wreath is a low-cost and weather-resistant option.
Pros
- Different and stands out
- Weather-resistant
Cons
- No reviews yet
Best traditional Christmas wreath
www.bloomandwild.com
Open the door and feel like you're stepping out into the world of A Christmas Carol with this delightful The Christmas Wreath from Bloom & Wild. The DIY wreath consists of fresh foliage and dried festive adornments including poppy seed heads, ruscus, limonium, pinecones, canella berries, grevillea and dried oranges.
Pros
- Easy to make
- Delivered in 100% recyclable and compostable packaging
Cons
- You have to build it yourself, so it may look a little different from the picture
Best showstopper
hiddenbotanicsweddings.com
This show-stopping and beautiful wreath is a modern take on the traditional Christmas wreath, perfect for those who want to try something different. Available in four different sizes.
Pros
- 100 per cent handmade
- Different sizes available
Cons
- No reviews yet
FAQs
Why are Christmas wreaths so popular?
Make a statement with your doorstep foliage this Christmas and choose to make your own wreath. This follows a growing trend in DIY Christmas decorations. You can forage greenery from your garden, or local woods and parks. Have a handy pair of secateurs in your pocket when you go for a walk. You never know when you'll come across the perfect holly bush. If you can't collect your own greenery, Bloom & Wild has created kits with everything you need.
In case we get hit by winter weather, an artificial Christmas wreath is the ideal weather-resistant option. Fabulous faux foliage can be very realistic and cost-effective.
Where do Christmas wreaths come from?
Modern Gardens magazine writer Jules Barton-Breck explains the origins of the Christmas wreath: "The symbolism of the wreath varies around the world, and although it has been used by Christian religion to symbolise immortality, its roots are pre-Christian. The word 'wreath' comes from the old English word 'writhen' which means to writhe or twist, but the use of wreaths goes back as far as Roman times when laurel was used as the main foliage and denoted status and victory."
What do I need to make a Christmas wreath?
Florist Hannah Bosbury from Green & Wild Flowers explains how to make a simple, but stunning wreath. You can get all the ingredients from florists, garden centres or online.
What you need:
• 1 x 12in wire wreath ring
• Florists wire
• Moss
• 8 bundles of pine branches
• 3 sprigs of dried pink pepper berries
• Handful of mixed dried grasses and/or seed heads
• 5 holly stems
• 3 dried orange slices
• 3 cinnamon bundles
• 3 pinecones
• 3 stems of dried craspedia also known as Billy Balls
How do I make a wreath from scratch?
• Wrap the whole of the ring in moss using florist wire to keep in place.
• Loop wire around the stem of each pine bundle and poke them into the moss base until the wreath is completely covered.
• Add the rest of the materials in alternate spaces to create an even more traditional look and tie in with wire where necessary to keep everything sturdy.
• Cut a short piece of string and tie it to the back of the top of the wire wring.
How do keep my Christmas wreath looking fresh?
If your wreath has a moss base, you can spritz it with water every one to two days. If it's a particularly frosty night, it's best to bring your wreath inside and store in a cool place.
When should a Christmas wreath come down?
Traditionally, a Christmas wreath should be taken down with all other decorations by January 6. This is 12 days after Christmas and is known as Twelfth Night. It's worth knowing that a wreath made of greenery lasts up to three weeks, as the winter weather keeps it fresh. This is a great environmentally friendly way to create a plastic-free Christmas decoration. A natural Christmas wreath is also 100 per cent compostable when the festive season is over.
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Natalie Knowles is a Homes & Garden Product Writer for Modern Gardens, specialising in garden trends. When she's not flexing her mow-how, Natalie is a successful artist and illustrator.